From Here On Out
by Jaina.Jedi.Girl
Summary: R&R Annabeth moves in with Percy. Basically fluff.
1. The Airport and Then Some

Hey! Just a little fanfic about Percy and Annabeth. I'm still working on my other fanfics, but I just wanted to finish this one. It's set in three POVS, the Narrator's, Percy's, and Annabeth's. I live in Southern California and have never left the Pacific Time Region, so I'm not exactly New York-aware if you know what I mean. Incase you don't, I mean I don't know where anything is, so if my locations are wrong just PM me.

"Yeah. Yeah, mom. Mom! Don't worry! Yeah I'm picking her up today. Yes you can come. And Paul too."

Percy Jackson was now twenty-one. He and Annabeth Chase, his girlfriend, had been together since they were sixteen. Five years was a very, very long time. They'd volunteered as counselors at Camp Half-Blood, and now that Annabeth and him were both attending NYU, they decided it'd be perfect if they just moved in. Annabeth, who had spent one month in San Francisco with her father's family, was scheduled to fly in today. Percy was just making some final arrangements in his apartment (located, unfortunately, two short blocks away from the Blowfis residents; however, it was the cheapest nicest apartment Percy could find close enough to the University) when his mother had called, asking if her sure-to-be-daughter-in-law had arrived yet.

Percy, most unwillingly, said that Sally could come to the airport, with Paul, to pick up Annabeth. And that would lead, as Percy knew, to a small get together afterwards. He had really just wanted to hang out with the girlfriend he hadn't seen in five months, but it seemed as though that wouldn't happen for at least a week or two.

"Ohh, Percy! I'm so glad that you and Annabeth are getting serious like this! Soon, I'll have grandchildren! Ohh, I just can't wait, Perce!"

"Uhh, Mom--"

"Percy, do you want me to bring anything? Blue chips? Blue salsa? Anything?"

"Mom--"

"Blue Pepsi. Or is it Coke that Annabeth likes?"

"It's Coca-Cola, but Mom--"

"No, don't say anything, I'm bringing it! And blue popcorn. Oh, well isn't Annabeth's favorite color green? I'll run out and buy green dye."

"Mom! We're not going to have _kids_ soon!" Percy yelled before his mother could continue on, and on, and on, and on.

"What?"

"We're sophomores in college! It's not like we're going to run out and...well...."

"Percy," said Sally. "I know you've been wanting to ask. But I'm sorry, I just am getting so excited! You and Annabeth have been in love for so long, she's already like a daughter to me. I forget that you two aren't married."

"Yeah."

"Okay well we'll be over in half an hour. I have to make the chips and Coke and everything."

"Yeah."

"See you!"

"Bye, Mom."

Percy sighed exasperatedly. Kids?! He and Annabeth did it, yeah; I mean, if their parents had no values, they didn't exactly have them either. They'd been in love for a long, long time; Percy had worked up the nerve two summers ago, when he was nineteen, but he had backed out at the last minute. And then last summer, two, he had thought about asking Annabeth, but he just _could'nt_. Maybe, just maybe, this year he'd be able to ask.

ANNABETH's

I waited patiently in the cafe, where Percy said he'd meet me. It'd been an hour since I got off the plane, and I looked kind of like an idiot just sitting there, iced latte in hand, a whole bunch of suitcases by me. It'd taken three employees to help me bring them to where I was sitting now.

"Seaweed Brain," I mumbled. "Where are you?"

I checked my cell phone again. Three forty-five.

Percy still hadn't gotten a cell, though I had urged him too many times. I think it was because he didn't want to "alert the monsters"--but it's not like they're going to hurt him or something. He's _invulnerable_. I knew it was because he didn't want to leave behind his days as a young demigod, embrace the fact that there were new heroes at Camp Half-Blood, new prophecies and adventures being completed. He missed the old days. Despite the fact that Grover and him and Nico were still close, and we remained in touch with all our old friends at camp, and he and Clarisse still bickered and teased and argued when we were all Counseling (though this year we were taking a break from Counseling), he couldn't let the fact go that he wouldn't be at camp anymore.

And there he walked in. He was exactly as I had remembered him. (Well, and seen him on Google VideoChat yesterday). His muscles just seen through his shirt. His black messy hair ruffled as always, a cowlick sticking up. His smile was huge, his sea green eyes glowing. Not literally, but I mean, you know, figuratively. He was as handsome as ever, and I stood up.

"Hey," I said. He kissed me on the lips. "I missed you, so much. I can't wait--"

"There she is!" said Paul. "Welcome back to the Big Apple, Annabeth!"

I quickly let myself free from Percy's warm arms. "Hey, Mr. Blowfis! Long time no see," I said, smiling. Then Mrs. Blowfis gave me a huge bearhug that nearly suffocated me.

"Hey...er..M-Mrs. Blowfis," I said. "Um...."

"Mom! Don't kill her!" Percy laughed. My heart swelled. I know that sounds cheesy and all, but Percy's laughter was one of my favorite sounds in the world.

"Sorry, Annabeth! I'm just so...so happy to have you here, moving in with Percy, and—oh!" said Mrs. Blowfis, pulling me into another rib-cracking hug. She let me go a second later, and they took three of my six suitcases.

"We'll be in the car. Percy, you'll be a gentleman and bring the rest of her bags, right?" said Sally.

He shrugged, laughing. "Maybe."

Paul and Sally laughed too, and walked out of the airport cafe.

"So...where were we?" he asked, struggling to hide his grin. He kissed me, and I kissed him back, until I realized we were in a public place.

"Maybe we could take this up at home?" I asked. Though really jetlagged, I was always up for Percy time.

He picked up the other three cases and the smile melted off his face, though the laughter was not gone from his eyes.

"Well...Mom and Paul kind of planned a party for you. Just a get together between me, you, Paul, and Mommy Dearest. Chiron might want to come up—he hasn't seen you in awhile, either."

I nodded. "Yeah. And Thalia too. She's in the New York area, and she might be able to take off time with the Huntresses. Then again, you can never tell with her."

Dang! I had wanted to spend quality alone time with Percy! Logically, I'd be way too tired by the end of the get together to do anything besides sleep or watch TV or sketch out some ideas for Olympus. I had wondered how they were doing—I hadn't visited to check on my progress in about five months, but had seen through Iris-messages.

"Yup. Maybe we could go out to breakfast tomorrow morning. Head over to Frenchy's, catch a flick."

Frenchy's was a "high class", five-star restaurant down the street from Percy's apartment. We'd been there once only to discover that they charged eighty dollars per dish, fifteen for drinks, and twenty for refills. Though Percy and I had pooled our money together because everything seemed so delicious (and it was), we hadn't gone there again. It had everything on the menu, though; including food ordered to the customer's preference. Percy had ordered a blue hamburger, much to the very pretty Italian waitress's amusement.

"Who says flick?" I laughed. He shrugged, and we made our way to the car.


	2. Annabeth Talks Babies

**Author's Note: I absolutely adore writing—it's something I do everyday, in my head, at school, whenever. But I'm an Honors student (hate to brag) and my teachers think they're the only teacher I have and give me enough homework for six classes. Well, okay, close enough to that much. I'm trying to keep writing—just please understand that there are only a certain number of hours after sleeping, school, homework, and socialization. **

ANNABETH'S POV

Percy drove with his arm draped over the back of my seat towards his—now, our—apartment. Mrs. Blofis jabbered away happily about how excited she was to have another woman around to talk with, how she couldn't wait to start taking shopping trips with Annabeth, how the tiny get-together was going to be a great catchup opportunity. I was mostly tuned out, staring at Percy's beautiful face, his large, strong hand hanging over my shoulder, smiling when I saw the smile plastered to his face, and checking my hair in the mirror every once in awhile.

"Annabeth, are you listening, honey?"

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled. "What was that?"

Mrs. Blofis had been talking about something, but I couldn't remember what it was for the life of me. Embarrassed, I twisted around in my seat to smile apologetically at her, laughing when I saw Paul had fallen asleep on his wife's shoulder. Percy, seeing my uncomfortable position, took his arm off from my seat and put both hands on the wheel. He turned, and then I realized he was parking into his space—now, our space.

"It's okay, Annabeth, but I was just asking if you wanted to go out to eat tomorrow, with Percy of course, and Paul and me, your choice of restaurant."

"Oh. Um, okay," I said without thinking, dazed by Percy winking at me.

Paul was woken up by Sally as Percy ran around to open my door.

He kissed me, though I was embarrassed as Sally and Paul smiled at us, before I could step out of the door.

We walked to his apartment hand in hand, Paul and Percy each carrying three of my suitcases. Sally continued to talk, and we all listened quietly, making "mmhs" and "yeahs" every now and then at appropriate intervals.

PERCY'S POV

I reluctantly let go of Annabeth's hand to unlock our apartment.

It was bigger than my mom's, yeah. The door opened up to a large living room-kitchen, the walls painted pale green. The coffee table was stacked with my textbooks, because I was taking classes on Saturdays at the university. The TV was small, but we didn't watch much TV anyway—Annabeth and I at least. I pecked her on the cheek and went with Paul to Annabeth's and my bedroom down the hall. I had repainted it last weekend so that it now was a medium blue, trimmed with a white stripe around the top. Before, it had been painted a blank white, with posters of _Star Wars_, _Harry Potter_, _Indiana Jones_, and various music groups (most notably Led Zeppelin and Muse), but I thought that I should girlify my apartment before Annabeth's arrival, thanks to some advice from Nico. The kid could be pretty useful sometimes—he had persuaded the landlord to let Percy repaint the walls of his apartment, and Percy shuddered at how that was made possible.

"Let's just place them on the bed," I said.

Paul nodded, and placed Annabeth's mismatched luggage onto our white bedspread.

"Listen. Perce," he said. Oh gods.

I pretended to not notice his tone that obviously meant he was going to have the talk with me. 'Hey it's kind of too late, Paul!' I wanted to scream.

"Percy...well, I know that you and Annabeth are...you know..."

"Um, Paul?" I said, still searching blindly for a way out of this embarrassing topic. It'd be so much more easier to talk with, well, someone more experienced like, well, Dad.

"Well, uh...you know what I'm trying to say. Just...your mom and I both don't want Annabeth to end up like your mom."

"What do you mean?" I snapped. This conversation was going sharply away from where I thought it was going. I thought that he was trying to tell me to try abstinence, but I guess...

"Do you remember you conversation with your mother this morning?" he asked me.

"Yes. It's not one I could forget, if you know why," I said sharply. "I don't think she realizes yet that Annabeth and I don't want to have kids quite so soon."

"Exactly. So try and be...well...preventive, okay?"

"Um..."

"I don't think either of you are ready for that, am I right? We don't want something to happen to Annabeth incase, well...you two...have a kid and you don't want her afterwards."

"That will never—ever—_EVER_--happen, Paul. And I don't mean to be rude, but...I love Annabeth more than anything, and, well, I know what you mean."

"Good," he said, sounding relieved. I sighed, and he copied me.

We walked out, then, and found our girls talking animatedly about something so ironic I nearly laughed out loud right then—babies.

"But, of course Annabeth, I love baby boys. They're easier."

"I think it'd be nice to have a boy first—but then, I didn't like having my brothers around when they were littler, so maybe a girl would be funner."

Ugh! Babies. And you know what's more ironic? That's what they talked about the rest of the night, all the way till eight o'clock. Paul and I watched _Casino Royale_ and then _Quantum of Solace_, then ESPN.

Finally, they left.

"It was so nice seeing you," said Mom, hugging Annabeth tightly. I kept one hand on the small of Annabeth's back, staring at my blue Converse. They were so dirty, now, that they looked gray.

"You too, Sally," said Annabeth, smiling.

Paul hugged Annabeth, then Percy, then took Sally's hand.

"See you two tomorrow at Mel's."

"See ya," I murmured. I shut the door behind them after waving to their backs.

"Finally!" she sighed, laughing.

I smiled, then took her face in my hands and kissed her full on the mouth.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" Annabeth said, wrapping her arms around my waist. "Take me on a tour. I haven't gotten to see it in a few months. Anything changed? Still have Natalie Portman taped to your ceiling?" she teased. I snickered.

"No," I said, chuckling. "But your wish, my command. Let's take a tour! Here, we have the living room."

"Very chic," she said, squeezing my hand.

"Here, we have the kitchen and dining room, sort of."

The kitchen had a quaint essence about it; with white cupboards and counters and green marble counters. The dining room was basically one of those bar things that you can sit at, but it's just counter.

"Nice," she said.

"Then here's our bathroom. Where we shower," I said, emphasizing 'shower'. She giggled; it was small, painted gray with white tiles.

"Then, here is your study slash library slash guest bedroom. The couch's a futon, but I figured I could take naps while you work."

"Oh, how convenient," she said, giggling again. A desk faced a large window with a breathtaking view of the Empire State Building. I thought it might help her out. There were books on architecture, both ones I'd bought at a nearby Barnes and Noble and gotten from Annabeth last week in preparation for her move, stacked on the drafting desk and in mismatched bookcases on either side, the futon on the west wall, and an iHome in a shelf set back into the opposite wall, as well as a small fountain on the balcony outside for iris-Messages.

"Then, milady, we come to our bedroom! I redid it, as you see," I said, waving around the room.

"I do, and I'm happy to see that a half-naked battle-outfit-clad Padme is no longer available for your eyes to see when _you're _only wearing pants when you wake up in the morning," she said, standing on her toes to kiss me.

It was funny, because I never really got out of the 'brain turning to mush' phase when we kissed. It was like I was dreaming—and after spending time with her, I only wanted more time. I forgot all the memories, all the moments, not like they never happened—just that I was half-conscious, wanting more and more of Annabeth to memorize and familiarize myself with.


	3. I Get In Trouble With Kats

PERCYS POV

Annabeth and I hadn't gotten any alone time until today, finally. It was Tuesday, and she had arrived Saturday. That was a very long time for me.

But luckily, today, we were getting _us _time.

"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked as I accidentally spilled orange juice on her lap.

"What's wrong with me?" I muttered, though I knew she heard me, as I leaped up to get a dish towel to help dry her.

"No it's okay," she assured me. "I'm just going to go change anyway. Then we can head out." She stood up from the table, and I was sure I heard her curse under her breath, but I didn't say anything. She stalked off to the bedroom, and didn't bother shutting the door behind her. I wondered if—and this was a big if, seeing as she was obviously fuming—that meant she wanted me to follow her in, but I thought against it. Sure enough, I heard her slamming our wardrobe's doors and drawers, scuffling and 'Ow!' and some cursing in Greek and then a sigh.

She had decided on shopping, even though she had gone Sunday with my mom, then a walk through Central Park, then dinner at Frenchy's since I had saved up, then home.

"You ready?" I called about four minutes later. She bounded out of our bedroom and ran into me. I caught her. "You okay, Annabeth?"

"Just excited for a whole day with you is all," she said. Her tone implied something more.

"Um...yeah. So to the mall, right?"

"Yes sir."

We walked hand in hand, sipping a coffee we had acquired at Starbucks because the line was unbelievably short (just ten people!) and Annabeth scowling when we walked into Abercrombie and Fitch (to buy her this sweater she saw in the window) and the welcome lady person couldn't help flinging her hair on purpose accidentally in Annabeth's face, giggling when I told the lady _I _didn't need anything, and following her around watching her beautiful slender figure as she searched for books in Barnes and Noble.

Central Park was a breeze—we just walked, talked, and laughed, and kissed.

Frenchy's, well...I got into trouble with that.

Our waitress introduced herself as, "Katarina, but _you _may call me Kat." She was sure to say you to me and not Annabeth. We'd ordered one plate of spaghetti and meatballs, and two Pepsis, one blue.

"Just like your pretty eyes," Katarina said to me.

"Um, thanks, but they were green last time I checked--"

"Excuse me, waitress? Katarina? Yes, would you excuse me for a moment--"

"Excuse _me_. I was talking to your brother here--"

"He's my _boy. Friend. _Thank you, very much, for not noticing how we're kind of holding hands and sharing a plate and we look nothing alike."

Katarina was taken aback, but I wasn't.

"Yes, actually, I quite agree with her," I replied curtly. Annabeth snorted.

"I'm so sorry, sir, madam. I'll get you another waitress if you'd like--"

She dropped her notepad then, in front of me, but bent down to pick it up before I could. I happened to look, and well, I saw a lot of stuff we learned in Family Life.

I looked away quickly, mashing my eyes shut, and Annabeth said 'Please!' and grabbed my hand and we walked out.

"Annabeth," I said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know it'd end up like that."

"Oh really! Everytime we go there some chick flirts with you. Everytime we go _anywhere _some chick flirts with you! It's getting real annoying, Perseus Jackson."

Of course. Bring the name into this. But even though she said my full name, I didn't get angry or irritated. Just hurt.

"Annabeth," I said. "I would never. Ever. Ever. Cheat or hurt you. It's not my fault I'm so darned good looking and irresistible," I said, half-smiling. She laughed, and I kissed her.

"Let's go home and order pizza, then," I said, kissing her again.

"Home with Percy. That sounds nice."


	4. Testing Against Bullets

DEEP apologies! I've been SO busy! And lazy, haha. Anyway, here are some updates for you, and I will try my hardest to continue writing, but understand it's extremely hard to keep up with homework, friends, deviantART, this, and volleyball.

Annabeth's POV

"No; hell, no, Annabeth, I'm not going to sit through another--"

He paused, and looked at me, then said, "Put it on _The Notebook_, then," he said, giving up. I kissed his cheek, and put in the DVD, then plopped back onto the couch, snuggling up against his collarbone.

"Mm. This is nice," I said quietly. He smelled like a mixture of Percy and AXE (Percy, by the way, smells like lilacs. Yes, that sounds kind of girlish and wrong, but it's true. Like lilacs and the beach. I suppose it's a mixture of his mother and father.) "Just you and me."

I heard him gulp, felt it against my cheek.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Are you sick or something?"

"No—n-not sick."

I looked at him, tried to make eye contact, but it didn't work. He was fiddling with his hands, and staring at his shoes like he'd never seen anything like them before.

I pulled my knees up to my chin, and held them together with my arms. "I'm not stupid, Perce. Wise Girl, remember? Daughter of Athena?"

He laughed, but didn't look up. I put the movie on pause.

"Talk to me," I said.

He looked away, out the window, then at the floor, then his hands, then me again.

"Can we go to Central Park or something? Someplace romantic? Or do you want to do this here?" he said, standing up.

"Do what?" I asked. He was looking at me now, making eye contact. It took me a second or two to compose myself. Even Daughters of Athena get beaten off the track once in awhile.

He half smiled, then dropped to one knee. Oh, gods.

"Annabeth..."

"Percy...?"

I was the one to gulp now. I felt my mouth pop open a bit, and my eyes water. I blinked, and bit my lip. I wasn't going to look like an idiot while he...

"Will you marry me? Okay, yeah, that sounds really weird out loud...Um...let's see...Okay, I got it. Will you be Mrs. Jackson? No you sound old! Ah—this isn't going well—gods, I had this all planned--"

"Percy--"

"Yeah, now that I think about it, will you marry me sounds fine. Uh...if you say no, that's fine, really--"

"Percy--"

"--but I really love you, Annabeth. Gods, I love you to death--"

"Perce, if you aren't going to let me finish a sen--"

"--and I would do anything for you, and seeing as I'm invulnerable and all that, I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem--"

"Seaw--"

"--and Nico and Grover and I haven't tested myself against bullets yet--"

That's what did it. A shiver ran down my spine, and I shouted, "_Seaweed Brain!_"

He looked at me again.

"Yes."

"Oh; I understand. It's too early--" he began, but I threw myself on top of him, making us fall to the floor. I landed over him, and placed my hand over his mouth.

"When will you ever stop being such a bubble-headed, water-bogged, Seaweed Brain?" I asked, and removed my hand so I could kiss him. My lips met his, and my hand cupped his chin.

He knotted his fingers through my hair and sat up so that I was now sitting in his lap.

"So that's a yes?" he asked, smiling against my lips. He pulled out a small, velvet, black box and popped it open. Inside was a ring with a silver band, the jewel a silver diamond the size of a rock, more or less. It was beautiful, exactly what I would have picked out. But then again, all engagement rings looked the same to me. It was simple, but wonderful. Especially because Percy was the one giving it to me.

"No duh."

Percy's POV

…..SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES SHE SAID YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	5. Annabeth Shuts Me Up

I am AMAZED at how awesome you all are. Power to the fanbase!

And personally, I thought the move wasn't half bad. Yes, I would be WAY happier if Alexandra Daddario (Annabeth) was blonde, had curly hair, and she and Perce didn't flirt so much, but I think she did a good job. :D

Percy's Pov

Six Months Later

Annabeth and I were strolling through the aisles of Target, I pushing an empty basket, while she held the scanner like a weapon, eying everything with a critical eye. I didn't care much—as long as we had food and a PS3 and stuff—but Annabeth was totally into it, so I just said yes to the things I thought was nice, and suggested things I didn't like. As long as she got things she liked, I wasn't too concerned.

"But Annabeth," I said, jumping onto the front of the basket and riding down the aisle struggling to maintain control of the cart, "we already have home stuff. Why are you scanning towels?"

"No reason," she said, not looking at me. I shrugged, and tried to do a wheelie while on the cart. It didn't work out—I almost ran into the porcelain and very vulnerable soap dishes.

"Oh, Seaweed Brain," she said, smiling, half amused and half angry.

"Soon to be _Mrs. Jackson_."

"I thought you thought that sounded old," she accused, scanning soft-looking purple towels.

"Well, yeah," I said, shrugging, "At first. But then I realized that I liked the way that sounded. Mrs. Annabeth Hermione--"

"SSHH!" she shrieked, clamping her hand over my mouth. I tasted the metal of her ring.

"Mmameth--" I mumbled against her hand.

"Perseus, you know full well I hate my middle name--"

"Mmmameth--"

"--so shut up about it!" she said, smiling. She removed her hand and kissed my cheek, making me blush. I hated it when she did that. Especially when we were kissing and she placed her fingers on the small of my back—my one vulnerable spot—and sent shivers all up my spine. It was so annoying! But gods, I loved it, at the same time.

"But one thing I was wondering about," I said.

"What's that?"

She walked in front of me casually—too casually. She was slightly slouching, and her legs were too stiff. She had something she wanted to tell me too. But knowing my Wise Girl, she wasn't about to tell me anytime soon. She just thought I knew what she was thinking. She scanned some bed-covers that looked as soft as the towels; white, not like the rough orangeish ones that clashed with our walls.

"That...do we really have to wait...another two months? Why can't we move it up to next week?"

The truth was, I was anxious; I wanted more than anything for Annabeth to be my wife now. It was like a stomachache—sure, she was mine, but I wanted her to be mine, and only mine, and make it official, and for her to know that I would never want another person more than I wanted her. Annabeth.

I remembered when our parents had found out. _All _of our parents...

I had walked up to the Empire with Grover and Nico and Thalia and Rachel, on a rare day when she was available to leave the Hunt, and Grover wasn't busy with Juniper. Nico was somehow always available.

"Dude...deep breaths. You look like you're about to crud your pants," said Nico. I rolled my eyes, but followed his advice anyway.

"Well, seeing as Athena could burst him into flames if she doesn't like him, or their parents could go haywire and it'd be Troy all over again. Only not quite the same," said Grover.

Thalia punched Grover in the arm. "Goat boy, that's not going to happen. Athena and Poseidon know how much Percy loves Annabeth, and how much Annabeth loves Percy. Unless of course, he hurts Annabeth _in any way_; then, I'm sure I'd be able to torture him until near death, then Athena would happily incinerate him. Which I would thoroughly enjoy."

Rachel laughed. "I'm sure the gods would enjoy incinerating someone. I've heard they've gotten soft, so they haven't done so in awhile."

I muttered to myself.

The way up the building seemed way longer than usual; but it was empty for once, so I knew it was just me.

Athena was there, with her gray eyes and features making it harder to concentrate and easier to think about Annabeth. In the end, both had said yes; my parents with much too good of grace, and Annabeth's father and stepmother the same.

Poseidon pulled me aside.

"Percy."

"Dad?" I asked, confused. What could he possibly want to say?

"Look, Percy. I would like to be there at the wedding."

I was surprised. Who knew he'd want to be there? Not me. I'd thought he'd want to stay out of it, let Annabeth and I have our wedding by ourselves, only our friends and family and acquaintances there, not our godly friends.

"Oh," I said, for lack of a better response.

"Is that alright?" he said, and I noticed something I hadn't seen in my dad's eyes before—rejection. Him? Be rejected by me? Right. I wasn't going to let myself get incinerated. Not that Dad would do that, exactly, but still...

"Of course!" I said, grinning. I was really happy he wanted to come. That he would be a part of the life I was now going to join with Annabeth. "She hasn't said yes yet. But I hope she will. I really love her, Dad. I'm_ in_ love with her. And I'd be honored, and really happy, if you came. I think it'd also mean a lot to Annabeth."

He smiled warmly. "Then I will show up at your doorstep—or apartment step, isn't it—to help you prepare for your wedding day. Because she will say yes. And as a father, it is my right to be there. And it's your first wedding, and you're my only heir for the time being."

I chuckled. "Sure thing, Dad. Whatever you want."

And then I'd walked out, floating on air—and she hadn't even said yes yet.


End file.
